Newbie Questions

[JL387]

Hi Everyone,

This is a nice site you have here. I was wondering what your thoughts are about a particular car. The car is an AAR Cuda, the motor is non-matching but was replaced under warantee. It has a significant amount of rust outside and rotted floors along with an interior that will need work.  In no way is it too far gone for restoration. And it would be a great car when repaired. But I was wondering what your thoughts were on restoration. Going to a professional classic car restorer's shop would be too pricey, but I don't really have any car experience to do it myself. So I'm in a bit of a bind wondering what I should do. This doesn't seem like the kind of project where you would want to learn as you go along. But, I would like to see it restored to pristine condition. Do any of you have any thoughts or opinions on what the best route to go would be ? Thanks in advance.

[cudadave72]

I'll be the first to welcome you to the site. This place is a great wealth of info. Through the expirence of the people on this site I'm sure you'll come up with a way to get your car done right. I myself would proably start off by collecting parts you'll need to restore your car and by the time you have all you need you should be able to decide weather to do it youself or let a pro handle it. Either way I'm sure you'll have fun!!! Have any pics???

[MEK-Dangerfield]

You have asked a great question. This is TRULY a valueable car.  I am NO body man, but most learn their trade(body work) by working on lesser cars, if you know what I mean. You don't want to mess this baby up.    You want a pristine car, so I guess it is either practice with the body work on something else, or settle for less than pristine... or what most of us have.   


  Mike

[4Cruizn]

Welcome to cc.com.  Hope you enjoy the site as its a great place to learn about the project you are talking about.  If it was me . . this is how I would handle it. 

1)  Strip the car down completely.  Tearing it apart is usually pretty easy.  Try to keep things organized a little as that will ease the assembly process. 

2) Find a media stripping place in your area and have the whole car media blasted so you know what you have.  Top to bottom and the interior is what I had done.

3) Next I would need a body man because that is something I have little talent at.  Find someone you trust and you know can do the job.  I waited 3 years for my convertible to be done but I got a good job at a really good price. 

4)  While the car is in the body shop, start preparing for the build.  Source all the parts and start collecting everything you will need.  This is a good time to tackle the engine build and prepare the trans. 

5) Once the car comes back from the body shop, put it all back together!!!  When you get to this point, this site will be priceless! 

 

[JL387]

Welcome to cc.com.  Hope you enjoy the site as its a great place to learn about the project you are talking about.  If it was me . . this is how I would handle it. 

1)  Strip the car down completely.  Tearing it apart is usually pretty easy.  Try to keep things organized a little as that will ease the assembly process. 

2) Find a media stripping place in your area and have the whole car media blasted so you know what you have.  Top to bottom and the interior is what I had done.

3) Next I would need a body man because that is something I have little talent at.  Find someone you trust and you know can do the job.  I waited 3 years for my convertible to be done but I got a good job at a really good price. 

4)  While the car is in the body shop, start preparing for the build.  Source all the parts and start collecting everything you will need.  This is a good time to tackle the engine build and prepare the trans. 

5) Once the car comes back from the body shop, put it all back together!!!  When you get to this point, this site will be priceless! 

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I'm still wondering how essential each of these steps are with regards to the people you have do them.

1. Is media blasting something that any local shop can do just as well as any other shop ? I would imagine who you get to do this is less important than bodywork.

2. Is there a noticeable difference in the kind of workmanship you would see from someone who is said to be very good in the area and someone working out of a well-known restoration place in terms of bodywork ? Would judges at a show be able to detect quality differences depending on who you went with ?

3. Could I do the engine and transmission on my own, or is that also something you're going to want to send out if you want done right ? I'd be learning pretty much on the spot if I attempted this.

4. I really don't want to cut any corners. But I assume there are some things you could perhaps go a bit cheaper on now and replace when you have the money. In what areas should someone take this approach ?

5. Like I said in my original post, the engine does not match. But it is a 340 6 barrel engine replaced under original warrantee. What effect will the nonmatching engine have on the value ? Will the fact that it is a correct engine from that general time period offset the decline in value somewhat, more than if it were a recent modern replacement ? 

[JL387]

Any thoughts ?

[Robert1050]

1) Media blasting is not difficult to do, there are lots of companies that specialize in it.  You can buy the bits & pieces to do it yourself, but someone that does it for a living, will know how much pressure to use (to not distort panels) and what type of media to use.

2) A good bodyman will be someone in high demand, whether he works at a local bodyshop or a specialty shop.  You want to find someone that has a good reputation and has experience with the type of work you need.  I've seen mediocre work from 'reputable' shops & I've had superb work done by someone working out of their garage.  Bodywork is bodywork - if someone knows what they're doing & does it right, no judge at a show will be able to tell who did it.

3) Drivetrain: how much experience do you have?  Re-building a motor or trans requires a certain amount of specialty tools, how well equipped is your garage?  At the least, you'll need an air compresser, engine hoist, engine stand, sockets, wrenches, etc.....You can do it by reading manuals & posting questions on here, but it does require a little mechanical aptitude.  There was a long post on here a while back about a guy re-building his tranny & the help he received here was priceless!  He got it done & it worked great!

4) Cheaping out on a restoration will only cost you in the end.  Take your time and do it right the first time. 

5) Recent modern replacement?  I don't think Mopar sells 340 bare blocks over the counter any more.  If you still have the original repair order and/or dealer paperwork, I don't think it detracts from the value very much.  The muscle car market is in a constant state of flux and buyers can sometimes be a fickle bunch and no one really knows where the market is headed.  A low mile, original survivor will always bring more money than a restored car.  A car with a warranty replaced block?  I wish I could pull out my crystal ball & tell you exactly what it would bring, but your best bet is to spend a lot of time going through 'for sale' sections & eBay and see what they normally go for.

[73Chally]

I think the fact that it is a warranty replacement block should not hurt the value much at all, as long as there is proof that that is what it is.  As far as the whole restoration process, I would say go for it, but you have to be ready to lay out some pretty heavy cash, even if you do most of the work yourself.  There are some things that there will be no way around sourcing out, such as the engine machine work.  If you are concerned about judging, then you will probably have to have a shop do the finish body work and paint.  Like MEK said before, if you can practice on a donor car that would be great.  Maybe you can find a CUda parts car that would be in good enough condition to practice with.  Whichever route you end up taking, keep us informed.  Do you happen to have any pics of the car?

[torredcuda]

If you have little or no experience doing body work or rebiulding engines and transmissions that AAR is not your best car to learn on as it may cost you more to redo things if the don`t come out right.The body and paint are the most costly to farm out and the best bet is to get refferals and see the work/talk to the customers at shows and such.Do it right the first time and don`t skimp or agian it will cost you more to redo.An AAR is an awesome car and worth good money done right but it sounds like you may be better off buying a done car or learning on a lesser car first b/c if you aren`t prepared for the cost,time and effort it sounds like this car needs for a total resto you can get in over your head quickly.Even doing it all yourself spending $20-40 grand or more on a top quailty resto is easy to do these days.

[JL387]

This has been very helpful and any other comments/thoughts are welcome.

[Super Blue 72]

Do you have any friends that do decent body work that may be able to help you out?  If you can get the car at a decent price, then get it and work on it later once you get some bodywork skills under your belt.  Yeah, a pro resto will cost you some $$$.   

Would love to see some pics! 

[Bullitt-]

Great car that deserves only the best, anything else would be a waist IMO. While I have no experience with these people I would think they would be worth looking into. http://www.uscartool.com/
They state
"For $15,000 - We will completely refurbish your Mopar Unibody and return it to you in bare steel. All rust will be removed, all damaged panels replaced or repaired as needed. Send us your ugly, rusty damaged Mopar Unibody and you will receive back a bare steel, straight, refurbished Unibody. Your Mopar Unibody will be ready for final body and paint."

If you've seen what a shop charges to restore & paint a complete car this sounds like a pretty good deal.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Wade

[kingtroll]

Let me just say that no matter what you do it will be expensive. Obviously the more work you do yourself the more you save. Unfortunately Mopars in general cost more to restore...parts are expensive and some are hard to find. In your case the car you have is one of the most sought after and quite frankly one of the the coolest to have. If you are patient and have the work done correctly the reward will be worth it. The good side is generally Mopars go for more money when restored than other muscle cars. Good luck with your project and remember to do things right the first time will save you money in the end. Many members here have literally taken years to restore their cars but if you love the car it will be woth the reward. Remember this site has many knowledgable members that are willing to help you and have traveled the road you are taking,  use their knowledge to learn AND save you some money. You can start by collecting parts that you know you will have to replace like another member suggested.